Payment With Interest
by Silent Sage
Summary: Neji and Lee often go out to eat after training. One day, Lee realizes that Neji is the one that always pays for both of their meals... NejiLee


**Payment With Interest**

Black, coal-like eyes stared dreamily up at the sky, gazing almost longingly at the fluffy, white clouds overhead. Absently, he could almost hear Shikamaru scolding him for not appreciating the complex art of cloud watching.

Yet, in his unique way, Lee was appreciating them just…not as much as Shikamaru. The colorless clouds floating sluggishly overhead reminded him of the same eyes of his team mate. The same team mate that had pinned him down to his bed the same morning before he left with Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, and Shino to bring back Sasuke.

To Lee's complete and utter surprise, the words that came out of Neji's mouth were something he had never expected him to tell utter. At least _this_ clear-cut. With the Hyuuga, one usually had to be able to learn how to distinguish his grunts. However, this one was simple and straightforward.

Neji had told him not to die.

"_When I come back, you had better be alive."_

Those worlds that had come out of Hyuuga Neji's mouth, to others, would have seemed like a threat, but to Lee, those words encouraged him to remain strong, even though the chances of him surviving were just fifty percent.

Fifty percent. Like the flip of a coin, his life could either end or continue depending one which side the coin landed on. Lee knew that his chances were slim, but…just before Lee lost consciousness, he didn't think of his chances of survival. No, instead, he thought of the same words that Neji had told him earlier.

Needless to say, that coin flip was in Lee's favor because he was still here. He was still alive here in Konoha, staring up at the clouds. Vaguely, he couldn't help but wonder why, of all days, he would remember such an insignificant memory from his childhood.

"Lee." A soft, baritone voice broke his thoughts, forcing him to look up at the branch above him.

Mentally, Lee clocked himself on the head for allowing himself to become so distracted that he had allowed another person to come so close to him without him noticing. If it had been an enemy, he surely would've been dead by now.

However, it was not. Maybe that's the reason why Lee had not jumped into action when he felt the other's chakra. Perhaps it was because his body had been so accustomed to this individual that this person barely registered on his chakra radar.

"H-hey Neji!" Lee stammered slightly, grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his bowl-shaped hair cut. It was one thing to not notice a person who was sitting right above you four or five feet away, but it was another thing when it came to Neji.

However, rather than ridiculing Lee as he had expected, all he received in reply was a silent, white-eyed gaze. Yet…barely, just barely, to Lee's trained eyes that knew his teammate for so long, saw the young Hyuuga prodigy's head nod just slightly in greeting as he continued to look down at Lee.

Yup, Neji had definitely changed, partly in thanks to Naruto. Back then nothing, absolutely nothing could get the fate-obsessed boy to smile, not even the hilarious antics of himself and Gai-sensei.

"Where's TenTen? Wasn't she with you training with her new kunai?" Lee asked out loud, somewhat out of curiosity, and mostly to break the silence that was resounding between the two. Lee liked silence, but right now, silence was making Lee fidgety. It reminded him of the cold, murmured quiet that had been Lee's only company during his stay at the hospital when visiting hours were over.

"TenTen's kunai work just fine. She had to leave to go back home to help her mother with the cleaning for fall," Neji replied softly, his face still as impassive as ever as he continued to stare down at Lee.

"Cleaning is…good," Lee replied slowly, not sure how to continue the one-sided conversation. He should be used to these conversations where he would be the one mainly talking and Neji would reply with a grunt or some sort or cruel answer. Yet…today, it was uncomfortable. Neji was acting as cool as ever, so it had to be Lee that was feeling the uncomfortable air around them. Maybe it was because of his thoughts from earlier that made Lee so fidgety.

Lee was about to ask Neji about his dear Gai-sensei, but both knew that their eccentric instructor was away on a top secreted mission that was specifically for the elite Jounin. Kakashi had gone too, making it even more suspicious. For some strange reason, no matter how much Lee prodded Gai-sensei about his mission beforehand, the normally loud teacher would give him a dazzling smile and usually find a way to distract him long enough to run away.

"Are you hungry?" Neji's voice broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled between the two. His expression didn't change even when Lee looked up at Neji, a look of clear astonishment on his face.

"Yup! After all that training, I really need to fuel up!" Lee chirped happily as he nodded his head, completely unaware of where the conversation was actually going.

Neji visibly tilted his head to the side before gracefully jumping down from the branch he was sitting on, and landing easily on the branch where Lee was on. The branch barely stirred as Neji's weight was transferred onto it. He crouched down so that he could look face to face with Lee's mildly surprised face, "Let's go, my treat."

"Eh!" Lee eyes, if possible, grew wider as he gawked at Neji. The taciturn boy simply ignored the look as he jumped down from the branch down to another; he continued the graceful jumps until he landed elegantly on the ground with the same refinement as he had shown earlier.

Neji looked back up the tree at Lee, an expectant look on his face as he waited for Lee to follow him. Obviously Lee was going to come, but, as usual, he would have to wait a moment or two for the information to fully process in Lee's head.

"Coming!" It finally clicked as Lee realized Neji was already on the forest floor, waiting for him. Easily, he jumped down from his branch to the ground in one large, single bound. Why take small bounds when it was easier for just one, big, quick one?

Neji turned around, his back facing Lee, as soon as he saw his teammate land easily and safely on the ground. He didn't need his Byakugan to see Lee easily catch up to him before slowing his pace to match with Neji's.

Contrary to their awkward conversation on the tree, the walk to get dinner was comfortable. It was silent, true, but to Lee, the silence now was comfortable, the same silence that was often heard between the two ninja when they were alone.

Feeling a crick in his upper body from his training, Lee's long, muscled arms stretched languidly up above his bowl-shaped haircut as he arched his back. A soft sigh fell from Lee's lips as he felt the familiar crack of several of his joints popping back into its correct positions.

Neji glanced at Lee as the taijutsu master stretched as they walked to their dinner location. A glitter of amusement shown in his blank eyes at how something as simple as a stretch could make Lee so happy.

Lee was simple, easy to read. What he said, he always meant it to the very end. One of the reasons why Neji could stand being in his presence.

The two ninja finally stopped at their destination. The Ichiraku Ramen sign swung above them gently as a soft breeze flew by, the slightly rusty hinges creaking slightly.

"Ramen?" Lee blinked at the restaurant standing before them. The familiar smells of hot broth wafted around the two, a faint smell of freshly made noodles and vegetables in the mix. From the smells wafting from the small building, it was no wonder that the Ichiraku ramen shop was one of the best places in town to eat.

"Did you want something else?" Neji questioned, watching as Lee predictably shook his head frantically, his bandaged hands in the front of him, mimicking the shaking motion that he was doing with his head. "Nononononono! Ramen is good! I was just surprised you would pick this place because I know you're used to…you know, _better_. I mean, we eat here all the time, so I thought…you would want something you were more used to. I have the money to pay for my own meal. "

"Better?" A slender eyebrow was raised elegantly at the green clad ninja before he abruptly pushed the lanky boy into the building. "I prefer this place rather than a fancy restaurant full of up ninja. At least here, we won't have to worry about them judging us because we're a little messy from our training." He shrugged his shoulders carelessly, "The food here is good and you like it. The price of a place or how expensive it is doesn't concern me and it shouldn't concern you."

"Ah," Lee nodded, his dark eyes scanning Neji's attire to see neither a speck of dirt on his white robe nor any indication of sweat or fatigue on his face.

Needless to say, looking down at himself, he was the complete opposite of Neji's spotless self. His bodysuit was covered in dirt and torn at the leg. His bandages were tangled and dried blood was starting to chip off of it. His hair probably had a leaf in it from earlier when he was jumping around in the trees, but when he saw himself in a window nearby, he saw it was gone.

Beside him, Neji was absently flicking a leaf to the ground before they walked in. There were no trees anywhere around them.

"One vegetable ramen please" Lee said enthusiastically, smiling brightly at the Ramen shop waitress as he settled himself down on one of the stools in front of the counters.

The waitress smiled politely in return at the enthusiastic ninja as she turned to look at Neji who glanced up at her and simply said, "One ramen supreme."

The girl cocked her head in surprise. He didn't seem to be someone who would eat much, let alone something as big as their largest order of ramen. Contrary to her belief, Neji may not have looked it, but he was famished. Meditating really did take it out of a person even if it didn't look it.

The waitress smiled politely at the two young gentlemen, their order already written down on her notepad before she walked away. In her head, she was wondering how two were eating together or just two random ninja who happened to be sitting beside each other in the stools even though there were plenty of other open seats available since many ninja this evening were already eating dinner with their own families or would come out later this evening for a late dinner.

Needless to say, the Ichiraku restaurant was open nearly all hours of the night and day to accommodate all the ninja who were coming home from a tiring mission and needed a hot, and well-cooked meal. Or, ninja going away on a mission, who wished to have a good meal before they left, sometimes their last.

A few minutes later, two steaming bowls of piping hot ramen were placed in front of the two young men. One had a good scoop of vegetables that included Chinese cabbage and various other vegetables that were undoubtedly good for the body. Neji, on the other hand, had an assortment of pork, beef, shrimp, lobster, and a bit of vegetable here and there. It really was a supreme bowl of ramen.

"Itadakimasu!" Both said; one lively and with excitement while the other said it blandly, bordering on boredom.

With as much exuberance as he did with everything, Lee dove into his ramen, happily slurping the noodles and biting into the vegetables that came with the noodles.

Contrary to the green beast next to him, Neji ate quietly with a dignified air. However, that didn't interfere with this speed at all as he ate just as fast as Lee, maybe even faster considering his bowl had a considerably large amount of meat and noodles in it.

There was no sound between the two ninja except slurping and munching. When eating a bowl of Ichiraku's famous ramen, conversation was not needed.

When finally, the last piece of Chinese cabbage was eaten, and the soft slurp of chicken broth, both ninja simultaneously placed their chopsticks down on the edge of the bowel, their faces flushed because of the hot and satisfying meal.

"That was yummy," Lee sighed happily, taking a small sip of the ice water that the waitress had set down after they arrived. Immediately, he could feel it flowing down his throat, cooling off his heated esophagus, making him shiver slightly, spilling some the water on his chin. His hand reached for a napkin at the corner of the table, but somehow, a pale, bandaged hand rose for it at he same time, grabbing his hand instead.

Neji looked expressionlessly at his hand which was holding Lee's scratched and scarred one, not a single indication of embarrassment or discomfort showed whatsoever. Slowly, he let Lee's hand fall, his fingertips gently brushing against Lee's scratched knuckles.

"I-I'm sorry," Lee mumbled, not entirely sure why he was apologizing when he had nothing wrong but mostly out of habit. Lee side-glanced at Neji warily, who, pretending not to notice Lee's nervous glance, simply sat there, patiently waiting for Lee to finish whatever he was doing. Sure that Neji was not going for a napkin; he slowly reached out and grabbed a napkin, and quickly wiping the spilt water from his mouth nervously.

Placing the napkin down, Lee couldn't help but wonder why his cheeks were suddenly so flushed. He vaguely remembered asking the waitress to tell the cook not to put anything too spicy in his ramen.

Lee was about to grab his wallet, wherever he had hidden it so that even Neji's Byakugan may not be able to find it easily. Yet, he heard Neji walk past him, telling the waitress to put both orders on the Hyuuga family tab.

Neji paused to look back at Lee who was still sitting immobile in his seat, "Are you coming or what?"

"Ah, ye-yes!"

It wasn't even two minutes before Lee's conscious got the better of him. If it was Naruto, he would've just crowed happily about getting a free meal. Well…if he had been eating with Neji, but then again, the chances of Neji eating with Naruto, and then paying for him, were slim to none.

"You didn't have to pay for me…" Lee mumbled as he caught up to Neji, keeping his distance from the quiet boy.

"No big deal," Neji shrugged, his gaze still forward as he leisurely walked toward Lee's home.

"We're walking to my house?" Lee blinked, immediately identifying the path they were walking as the way to his home.

"Yes, unless you changed your address without informing anyone."

"Well no…but you don't have t-"

"I don't," Neji quickly interrupted Lee, knowing fully well what was going through Lee's thick head. Being with Lee all these years, Neji could probably tell what underwear Lee wore: boxers or briefs. Not…that he _knew_ of course. He turned his gaze to Lee who patiently waited for him to continue. "But I still can, can't I? If I remember correctly, the Hokage has not made a law against treating a companion to meals."

It was more of a statement rather than a question, but Lee nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah, I suppose it's alright to treat meals for friends," Lee smiled, a light shade of pink staining his cheeks unbeknownst to him.

However, fortunately or unfortunately, Neji, with his keen sigh, clearly saw the pink stain on pale, dirt covered skin. The edges of his lips lifted slightly, watching as Lee rambled on about something about the wonderful-ness of youth and sharing. What Neji wanted to tune out, he easily did. He used this move many times in fact, especially when it came to Gai-sensei's lectures.

In an almost bored like demeanor, Neji looked up at Lee's home as they arrived. It was on the second floor of the apartment complex, it was like a matchbox compared to the Hyuuga complex. His gaze was not out of rudeness though. Being part of the same team, the Hyuuga prodigy had gone to Lee's house on more than one occasion.

Actually, now that Lee thought about it, Neji walked him to his home almost three over four times a week. Rarely did Lee walk with Neji to his home, but it was mainly because of the cold looks he received from the Hyuuga clan. It was probably because he looked like he had been rolling around in the dirt and which was partly true since he usually ended up flat on his back, looking up a the sky dazedly whenever he fought with Neji.

"Thanks for the meal!" Lee said brightly, smiling one of his eye blinding smiles. They were standing at the base of the staircase that led to Lee's apartment.

Lee leaned against the staircase that led to his apartment, looking curiously at Neji who had not spoken or at least given a word in return the last five minutes while they stood there. Lee patiently remained rooted near the staircase while Neji stood in the middle of the sidewalk, his arms crossed over each other.

"I…really should pay you back," Lee said bashfully, breaking the silence as he rubbed the back of his head. "I can't keep leeching off of you every time we got out to eat."

Blinking, Lee just realized he had said something girlfriends said to their boyfriends. Neji and him just ate with each other and enjoyed each other's company. It wasn't a…date. No, it couldn't be. That was probably the farthest thing from Neji's mind.

"You can pay me back. Just not…with money," Neji said slowly, finally talking, his eyes staring fixedly into Lee's. They were as white as ever, yet…there was a small glimmer of something, something that reminded him of the same glint Naruto's bright, cerulean eyes shone when somebody mention ramen, especially _free_ ramen.

"Whatever you want, I'll try to get it for you to repay your kindness," Lee said, a determined look on his face as he prepared himself emotionally for whatever he had to do to repay Neji.

One bandaged hand grabbed one of Lee's own bandaged hand, pulling the green clad youth toward the long-haired youth.

Chest to chest, Lee found himself pressed against Neji's equally muscular body. Neji's other hand wrapped around his lower back while Lee's only free hand was resting on the Hyuuga's chest.

As if someone had pressed a button on 'Slow', Lee watched as Neji's face continued to move forward until he was nose to nose with Neji. At the same time, he felt soft, smooth lips gently brush against his slightly chapped ones.

Lips…it was just skin, like punching someone in the arm, or kicking somebody in the stomach. Pressing skin against skin was not unusual for the boy as he did it regularly. Either hugging Gai as they had a 'moment', aiming a kick at Neji who would easily block it with his arm, or even trying to hug Sakura who would immediately move away, making him crash into a nearby wall or tree.

He was used to skin to skin contact but…it was never like this. Never on the lips.

Lee felt his face flush bright red, his body deathly still in Neji's arms. His bandaged hand held in Neji's bandaged hand, his hand on Neji's firm chest while Neji's arm was wrapped around Lee's thin waist.

Neji, seeing now movement or any kind of sign of emotion in Lee's eyes, which was rare, slowly moved back a step. His white eyes looking at Lee as if reading what was on Lee's mind, yet, there was nothing there. He cocked his head to the side, his face expressionless as he spoke softly, "That will be my payment."

Neji was about to turn around, his arm sliding down to rest against his side as his other hand finally freed Lee's hand. However that hand that had been resting on Neji's chest closed down on his white robe, wrinkling the pristine white shirt, not that Neji cared about such a trivial mater at the moment.

"What about yesterday's dinner?"

Lee was staring at his hand which was currently holding Neji close to him. Even though his head was bent down, Neji, with his ever seeing eyes, could still see the furious blush that was on his face. At the same time, the Hyuuga could see the rejection that was in Lee's hidden eyes. Lee obviously thought it was a joke of some sort.

Neji was going to prove him wrong. As usual.

Faster then Lee could blink, Neji had rewrapped his arm around Lee's waist while the other hand forced the blushing Taijutsu master's face up to look back at him. Surprise and awaiting rejection were in them as they stared into Neji's white ones.

"I'll take my payment now," Neji's smirk widened as he bent down to a pair of shy, awaiting lips. "I plan on receiving my interest too."

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SS: I'm a wicked girl, I know. SasuNaru seemed a little overdone, especially since Naruto is being shown on CN. I didn't want to do that overly done pairing, not that I don't love it, I just thought it'd be better if I'd try a different rivaling. Next cutest rival, wannabe couple: NejiLee! I just really hope I kept them IC because anything else is just so not...cool. Lol, anyway C&C's are always welcomed!


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